When art & RVs co-mingle

Artist Kevin Cyr has added a touch of whimsy to Recreational Vehicles, elevating them to a sculptural piece. He has pushed the boundaries of what traditional RVs should look like and has created two distinct, one-of-a-kind eco-friendly RVs - a Camper Bike that one rides like a bicycle, and a Camper Kart built atop a shopping cart.

Recreational vehicles are usually considered mobile homes, which get those who are restless at heart from one scenic spot to another. RVs are highly practical contraptions, providing RVers with comfortable living amenities while out camping in the wilderness. Artist Kevin Cyr has added a touch of whimsy to RVs, elevating them to a sculptural piece. He has pushed the boundaries of what traditional RVs should look like and has created two distinct, one-of-a-kind eco-friendly RVs. One being a Camper Bike that can be ridden like a bicycle and the other a Camper Kart built atop a shopping cart.

Kevin Cyr grew up in Maine and currently calls New York City home. He is famous for his paintings of rusty, graffiti-ridden vans and landscapes. Old, abandoned vehicles fascinate and inspire him. Kevin sees the graffiti and signs of age on a vehicle as a sort of badge of honor and celebrates them in his paintings. Some of the vehicles he paints are ice-cream vans, delivery trucks, RVs and rickshaws. Kevin believes these middle-class, commercial vehicles define the changing American landscape.
From being a painter of commercial vehicles, what drew Kevin to creating alternative RVs? He did a lot of camping with his family when he was young. Even if they weren't camping or traveling, he spent his summers in their green '77 Apache pop-up in the backyard.
Living in the city now doesn't give him many opportunities to go camping. Having been a bike messenger in Boston for five years, he noticed the strong bike culture in China on several trips there. Combining his interests in biking, China, and his longing to go camping, Kevin came up with the concept of the Camper Bike. What started as a series of paintings developed into a full-fledged functional sculpture. The Camper Bike is a small cab-over camper that rests on a sturdy tricycle. The inside is sparsely furnished with basic amenities. The owner need simply ride it like a bike, carrying his home along with him.

Camper Kart

Kevin's other project is the Camper Kart. This was inspired by the book "The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, the story of a father-son duo pushing around their belongings in a shopping cart. The Camper Kart is a small pop-up camper built atop a shopping cart, where you can pack your belongings and sleep in.

Kevin has received offers to put his art pieces into commercial production. While acknowledging that his creations would need to be fine-tuned to make them more practical and efficient, he is content to let them remain objects of beauty for now. He plans to continue working on both these projects, creating paintings and other art based on campers. Kevin's next vision is to build a pop-up on a small boat for two and take it down the Mississippi river. With a little imagination, anything is possible. With a little imagination, two seemingly different worlds can collide and coexist-such as art and RVs!

Urban Camping - Vertical camping in the cityTaking on the growing trend of camping in the city, a Belgian architecture company came up with an innovative design called Urban Camping. This structure will allow people to camp in city centers safely and in relative comfort. Will you try it out?

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A camping sauna offers a relaxing way to end a busy day enjoying the outdoors. The good news is it's very easy to build one, and you don't even have to spend extra money. All you need is just some of your camping gear.

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